Eliza Acton authored two popular Victorian cookbooks. Hers were the first in England to list ingredients separately from the instructions (though she put the ingredients after them.) She was so popular that even Mrs Beeton blatantly plagiarized from her.
English Food
Elizabeth David
Elizabeth was the first cookbook writer not to be a home economist or a cook. Her writing style was evocative, descriptive and lavish, talking about food ingredients and drawing on literature and history.
Elizabeth Raffald
Elizabeth Raffald was the author of the popular 18th century book, ‘The Experienced English Housekeeper’, with over 800 recipes. She was a very modern woman for her times, running several businesses as well.
English Madelines
English Madelines are different from the French cookies called Madelines. The English ones are actually small, tall individual portion cakes made of Victoria sponge baked in tapering dariole moulds or castle tins. The small cakes are allowed to cool after baking. Then, the wide tops are trimmed to make sure they are flat, and then…
English Morello Cherries
English Morello Cherries are medium-sized sour cherries. They have dark red skin, red flesh, and give off red juice. If someone says just “Morello” cherry, this is often the kind that is meant.
English Mustard
English Mustard © Denzil Green English Mustard is quite hot. It comes either as a powder in a tin, or as a prepared mustard in a jar. If a recipe just says “English Mustard” or “mustard powder”, it’s the powder that is meant. The powder is mostly used in the kitchen, the prepared is used…
Eton Mess
Eton Mess is an English dessert. It consists of whipped cream, sweetened with a little sugar, that has crushed meringue cookies and mashed strawberries folded in. Usually, a small amount of kirsch or port is mixed in with the strawberries before they are folded into the mixture. It is served at Eton College in Berkshire,…
Exmoor Blue Cheese
Exmoor was a creamy yellow farmhouse blue cheese made in different size rounds. It was produced from 1986 to approximately 2010.
Fadge: A British and Irish flatbread
A fadge is a small, round flat loaf of bread that is up to about 5 cm (2 ½ inches) thick when baked. Some people made it from regular bread dough, causing some confusion with stotties. Others made fadges from a dough without any leavener that was meant to provide some form of bread quickly…
Faggots
Faggots are meat patties made in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire from ground meat that is bound together with breadcrumbs, seasoned with onion and sage, and wrapped in caul fat before cooking. The meat used comes mostly from parts of the pig considered offal — lungs, heart, and liver. The caul fat not only helps further to…
Fanny Cradock
Fanny was one of the first, and most original, celebrity TV food personalities ever. Descriptions of her range from bizarre to high camp to battleaxe.
Gary Rhodes
Gary Rhodes (1960 – 2019) was an English cookbook author, chef, and celebrity TV chef with a passion for re-interpreting classic British food in modern ways. He insisted on seasonal food.
Gino d’Acampo
Gino d’Acampo is a celebrity Italian cook in England, known for his restaurant chain and television appearances. He also writes books and sells branded products in his name.
Gloucester Cheese
Gloucester Cheese is made in two versions: Double Gloucester, made from whole milk, is available in most supermarkets, while Single Gloucester, made from skim milk, is quite rare and expensive.
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay is a celebrity chef and cookbook author in England. He is as well-known for his temper as he is for his cooking and his spats with other food personalities.
Hack Pudding
Hack pudding is a version of Haggis made in the Lake District of England, in Cumbria (formerly Cumberland.) It is a meat pudding, sweetened, stuffed in an animal skin and simmered to cook it. The stuffing consists of minced meat (and suet), fruit such as apples, dried fruits such as currants, oats soaked overnight in…
Harbourne Blue Cheese
Harbourne Blue Cheese is made in Totnes, Devon, England, from pasteurized goat’s milk. It is almost white with greyish-green veins, and is firm and crumbly. The rind is moist. It generally has a mild taste with a bit of a tang in it, but “it is quite variable in taste and texture depending on the…
Haslet
Haslet is a very dark-coloured British sausage made from pig’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs.) It can be made as a sausage or a meatloaf. The meat is finely minced to make a forcemeat, which is then flavoured with herbs such as sage. The meat is then bound together with wheat flour or breadcrumbs, and…
Hollow Biscuits
Hollow Biscuits are small, dried breads made in England. A pale gold colour, they are similar to a rusk in texture, but in shape they look like irregular doorknobs. They have a crunchy crust with a hollow centre. They are traditionally buttered, and served with jam or cheese. Some recommend them with potted meats as…
Hot Cross Buns
Hot Cross Buns are round, slightly-sweet individual serving-sized buns made from a yeast-risen wheat dough with dried fruit in it. They are very deeply browned, and have the form of a cross on top. Hot Cross Buns are still used in many Easter ceremonies in England (they are not a Scottish, Welsh or Irish tradition.)…
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Life and Times Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is an English food personality and writer who seems to embody many of the food trends that were popular at the turn of the 21st century. In fact, for him, food at times seems more “political” than it does seem to be about food itself. He is very anti-McDonald’s —…
Huntingdon Fidget Pie
Huntingdon Fidget Pie is a traditional English savoury meat pie. It is made throughout the Midlands, though some feel that its true home is the former county of Huntingdonshire, now folded into Cambridgeshire. The pie filling is made from fatty bacon (streaky aka American style), onion and apples. Cider is added for flavour and moistness….
India Pale Ale
India Pale Ale is a type of ale. It is pale in colour, as the name indicates, and has an alcohol content of 5% or higher. It is very hoppy, and therefore more bitter than other beers, particularly when new, however, it mellows as it ages. IPA on bottles stands for “India Pale Ale.” History…
Isabella Mary Beeton
Life and Times Anyone who has heard of Mrs Beeton probably thinks of her as a stately, stout, tough matron, the kind that went out into the world to beat back the bush in the name of God and Queen. In fact, she died young, just shy of 29 years old [1]28 years, 10 months…